Sensex slumps 981 points, Nifty ends near 17,800; PSU index crashes 6%


Bears crawled on Dalal Street on Friday as wobbly global sentiment as Covid-19 scare in China triggered slowdown fears. With this, equity markets have settled lower for a fourth consecutive day.

The S&P BSE Sensex slumped 981 points or 1.6 per cent to end at 59,845, which is its lowest level since October 28. The index hit an intra-day low of 59,766 during the day dragged by Tata Steel, Tata Motors, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Reliance, L&T, which shed 2-5 per cent.

The Nifty50, meanwhile, ended at 17,807, down 321 points or 1.8 per cent. The index sank to a low of 17,779 during the day.

The pain was even more severe in the broader market space where the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 3 and 4 per cent, respectively.

The broad-based selling was led by public sector banks with the Nifty PSU Bank index tumbling nearly 6 per cent. This was followed by the Nifty Metal index (down over 4 per cent), and the Nifty Realty index (down 3 per cent).

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Sensex dips 427 points, Nifty below 17,650; HUL adds 3%, Bajaj Finserv down 5%


Global headwinds weighed on Indian equities for fourth straight day on Friday as all sectors, barring selective FMCG counters, slid into the negative territory.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended the session with 427-points cut at 59,037 level with 10 index constituents ending the session in the green. The 30-pack index had briefly breached below the 59,000-mark intra-day and hit a low of 58,621.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 gave up the 17,650-mark to end at 17,617, down 140 points. The broader markets bled even more with both the mid and smallcap indices closing 2 per cent lower each on the BSE.

Overall, 2,329 stocks ended in the red on the BSE as against less than 1,048 stocks in the green. Fear gauge, India VIX, soared 6 per cent to end near 19-mark.

Sectorally, only the Nifty FMCG index ended in the green, up 0.36 per cent. The losses, on the oher hand, were led by the Nifty PSU Bank index, down 3 per cent. All other indices slipped between 0.5-2.4 per cent.

Bajaj Finserv, Tech M, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, and Axis Bank were the top large-cap draggers while Zee Entertainment, Canara Bank, Concor, Info Edge, Sasken Technologies, Hindustan Oil Exploration, and Polycab India were the mid- and small-cap losers. All these stocks were down in the range of 2-11 per cent.

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Sensex slumps 765pts, Nifty ends below 17,200; Reliance, FMCG, banks weigh


The key benchmark indices reversed their two-day winning streak with losses in excess of a per cent. Index heavweight Reliance Industries, banking and FMCG shares were responsible for a significant amount of the losses.

The BSE benchmark index, the Sensex, had started trade on a positive note and soon rallied to a high of 57,757 (up almost 300 points from the previous close). Selling emerged towards the end of the first-hour of trades, and thereafter it accentuated in noon deals. The BSE 30 index slumped to a low 56,641 in late trade – down 1,116 points from the day’s high. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 765 points at 57,696.

The NSE Nifty tumbled 309 points from the day’s high of 17,490 to a low of 17,181, and eventually settled 205 points lower at 17,197.

The broader indices, however, outperformed the key benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap index ended almost flat, while the Smallcap index added 0.3 per cent. The overall market breadth was also positive, with 1,778 advancing shares versus 1,475 declining stocks on the BSE.

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Banks lift indices to 10-wk high; Sensex ends 976 points up, Nifty at 15,175


Benchmark indices built on gains clocked through the day and ended nearly 2 per cent higher on Friday after India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, reported a healthy quarterly show. The lender’s net profit zoomed over 80 per cent to Rs 6,451 crore in Q4FY21 as it set aside lower provisions and expected asset quality to improve going forward.

Supported by rally in other financial stocks, the BSE barometer of 30-shares ended at 50,540 levels, up 976 points or 1.9 per cent. On NSE, the Nifty50 index advanced 269 points to settle above the crucial level of 15,150-level at 15,175. Both the indices hit their respective highs of 50,591 and 15,190.

SBI was the second best gainer on the Sensex, up 4 per cent, while IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other top gainers, up between 3 per cent and 4.5 per cent. All these stocks contributed nearly 680 points towards the Sensex’s total gains.

On the downside, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Power Grid on the Sensex, and Eicher Motors, Indian Oil Corporation, Grasim, and SBI Life on the Nifty were the only only laggards on the indices, down up to 0.3 per cent.

Financial indices — Nifty Bank, Private Bank, PSU Bank, and Financial Services — outperformed on the NSE today, and gained between 3-3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, all other sectoral indices settled up to 1 per cent higher.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices underperformed the benchmarks today and ended 0.8 per cent and 0.65 per cent higher, respectively.

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Sensex ends 434 points lower as RBI cuts GDP forecast; banks slip


A 25 basis point (bps)-rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday failed to cheer market participants as concerns over slowing economic growth dented investor sentiment. In its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy meet, the RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) did cut the repo rate, as widely expected; however, a sharp reduction in the GDP growth forecast to 6.1 per cent for the financial year 2019-20 (FY20) caught investors off guard.

Benchmark indices, S&P BSE Sensex and NSE’s Nifty50, lost over 1 per cent, thus taking their losing streak to the fifth consecutive session.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 434 points or 1.14 per cent to settle at 37,673.31. Financial stocks led the decline with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank falling up to over 3 per cent.

On the NSE, the frontline index Nifty50 ended at 11,175, down 139 points or 1.23 per cent.

On a weekly basis, Sensex shed nearly 3 per cent while Nifty50 lost 2.93 per cent.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank index slid nearly 700 points or 2.40 per cent to settle at 27,731.85 levels, with 10 out of 12 constituents ending in the red. Nifty IT index was the only sectoral index on the NSE that ended in the green. The Nifty IT index ended at 15,340.30, up 62 points or 0.41 per cent.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index lost 131 points or 0.94 per cent to settle at 13,713.79 levels, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 12,809, down 102 points or 0.79 per cent.

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Sensex surges 580 points on Friday on strong Asian cues; auto, banks rally


The benchmark indices settled over 1.5 per cent higher on Friday led by a sharp rise in automobile stocks amid a jump in the Asian markets which rose as China and the United States expressed optimism about resolving their bruising trade war.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,012, up 580 points (up 1.8 per cent), while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,553, up 173 points (up 1.7 per cent). The indices ended over 5 per cent higher this week, making it the biggest weekly gain since May 2016.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Auto index rose 4.2 per cent led by a rise in Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp. The Nifty Bank index, too, ended 1.5 per cent led by IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank.

In stocks, the oil and gas companies rallied led by BPCL which rose 6.4 per cent to Rs 301 on the BSE while IOC ended nearly 5 per cent higher at Rs 148.

The rupee firmed against the US dollar, reclaiming the 72-per-dollar levels. The Indian currency rose to 72.53 against the greenback in intra-day trade, up from its previous close of 73.45 per dollar.

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Sensex reclaims 35,000: IT, FMCG, auto, metal stocks shine in claw-back


Benchmark indices ended sharply up on Friday, triggered by corporate earnings and taking cues from global peers.

The S&P BSE Sensex hit an intra-day high of 35,065, but pared gains to end at 34,970 levels, up 256 points. The broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,692, up 75 points.

Reliance Industries (RIL) hit a record high of Rs 1,000 per share, up 2.5% on the BSE in intraday trade on the BSE, ahead of its Q4FY18 results today. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 990 recorded on January 23, 2018 in intra-day deal. The textiles-to-telecom conglomerate, RIL is expected to post its best-ever quarterly consolidated net profit, with the figure expected to be close to Rs 100-billion mark.

Country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, reported a record annual profit of Rs 77.21 billion for the year ended March 31, 2018, helped by a double-digit growth in volumes of cars sold. The Suzuki-promoted firm clocked a near 17 percent jump in sales revenue for the year to Rs 781 billion. Profit, however, grew by just five percent. An increase in effective tax rates and lower non-operating income due to mark-to-market impact on the invested surplus, compared to last year impacted net profit, the company said.

Shares of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks were in focus with Nifty PSU Bank index gaining 5%, its sharpest intra-day gain during past one month on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

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Indices end flat on Friday, Nifty holds 10,550; TCS gains 7%


Benchmark indices were flat on Friday even as minutes of the central bank’s policy panel meeting stoked expectations of an interest rate hike, with losses in financials and metals overshadowing gains in information technology stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 34,416, down 12 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,564, down 1 points.

The rupee dropped to its lowest in more than a year following a hawkish tone in the minutes, released on Thursday, of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting that took place earlier this month.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index slipped nearly 2.5% led by a fall in shares of Bank of India and IDBI Bank.

Investors cheered the results of Tata Consultancy Services, sending its shares to an all-time high of Rs 3,421 after the country’s top software services exporter posted its biggest-ever profit on Thursday.

Prakash Constrowell share price rallied 10% after the company has been declared L-1 bidder by the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) for the new project Dumpsite Reclamation at Mulund Dumping Ground (MDG) in Mumbai by adopting suitable technology for existing garbage dump.

J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals fell 2.33% to Rs 312.65 on BSE after the company said it received an order from Pollution Control Committee, Daman for closure of its formulation manufacturing facility at Daman.

They were once seen as among India’s most promising growth stories. Now, however, the fate of ABG Shipyard, Alok Industries and Lanco Infratech is seen as near-certain but in the opposite direction. With huge debt, few takers for their assets and the whopping write-offs (‘haircuts’) that banks are likely to take on the loans given to these companies, industry experts believe liquidation of the trio are among the few options. All three have defaulted on their huge payment obligations.

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Sensex ends flat but up 2% for the week, Nifty settles below 10,350


The Nifty50 index pared gains to end in negative after hitting record highs earlier in the session, as Yes Bank slumped nearly 10% on concerns over bad loans. The Sensex ended flat but at new closing high for the day.

The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were gained more than 1.5% each for the week after the cabinet’s decision to inject $32.4 billion into state-run lenders over the next two years boosted sentiment.

Reliance Industries, oil marketing companies, metals, Bharti Group, select banks and technology stocks saw selling pressure whereas NBFCs, Tata Group stocks, ICICI Bank and ITC supported the market.

State-run oil marketing major, Indian Oil, reported a fall of 18.7% in its net profit for September quarter at Rs 3,696 crore against Rs 4,548 crore during the previous quarter. The revenue came in 13.7% lower at Rs 1.1 lakh crore against Rs 1.28 lakh crore quarter on quarter.

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